Apparatus and method for mounting an attachment on a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A vehicle having a body to which a pair of elevatable boom arms are connected. Connected to the boom arms is an attachment carrier. The carrier can engage an attachment so that the attachment can be carried by the boom arms and positioned to bring apparatus on the attachment into cooperation with apparatus on the body of the vehicle for mounting the attachment on the body of the vehicle.

A United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,732,996 Bauer 14 1 May 15, 1973 54APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR [56] References Cited MOUNTING AN ATTACHMENT ONA VEHICLE UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,200,975 8/1965 Chase .....2l4/77 R X[75] Inventor P 3,135,404 6/1964 Pilch ..,...214/142 [73] Assignee:Clark Equipment Company, Bu- 3,485,392 12/1969 Lofgren.. ..2l4/77 Rchanan, Mich 3,220,487 11/1965 Pilch ..214 131 x [22] Filed: V 7 A 1971Primary Examiner-Gerald M. For'lenza [2]] Ap No,; 176,268 AssistantExaminer-Jerold M. Forsberg Attorney-Kenneth C. Witt Related US.Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 5,541, .ian. 26, 1970,aban- [57] ABSTRACT A vehicle having a body to which a pair ofelevatable boom arms are connected. Connected to the boom [52] 214/152214/131 5 2 2 7 arms is an attachment carrier. The carrier can engage 51t Cl 1 B65 00 an attachment so that the attachment can be carried E i 3A by the boom arms and positioned to bring app ratus on the attachmentinto cooperation with apparatus on the body of the vehicle for mountingthe attachment on the body of the vehicle. 7

4 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENIEB AYI 3.732896 SHEET 1 [IF 5 JNVENTORJAMES J. BAUER ATTORNEY PATENTEDHAYISIQYS $732,996

SHEET 2 BF 5 FIG. 2

FIG. 5

INVENTOR JAMES J. BAUER BY 27m 6 a/Jt ATTORNEY PATENTEUHAY l 5W5 SHEET 3BF 5 INVENI'OR JAMES J. BAUER ATTORNEY PATENTEDHAYISIQYS $732,996

SHEET l 0F 5 FIG. 6

FIG. 7

INVENTOR JAMES J. BAUER Maw??? ATTORNEY PATENTEDHAY] SE75 3 732,996

SHEET 5 [IF 5 l NVENI'OR JAMES J. BAUER XML??? 1% ATTORNEY 1 APPARATUSAND METHOD FOR MOUNTING AN ATTACHMENT ON A VEHICLE This is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 005,541, filed Jan. 26, 1970 nowabandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of art to which this inventionrelates ineludes material handling vehicles, and more specifically frontend loaders.

Backhoes and other attachments which are so heavy as to be difficult orimpossible for a person to handle unaided increase the versatility of avehicle, but present problems in handling when being mounted on orremoved from a vehicle.

Therefore, it is a principal object of my invention to provide apparatusand a method for easily mounting on and removing from a vehicle heavyattachments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In carrying out my invention in a preferredembodiment, I provide a vehicle having a body to which a pair ofelevatable boom arms are connected. Pivotally connected to the boom armsis an attachment carrier which is engagable with an attachment so thatthe attachment can be carried by the boom arms. Connecting means on thevehicle body cooperate with connecting means on the attachment and aredisposed so that the connecting means on the attachment can be broughtinto cooperation with the connecting means on the BRIEF DESCRIPTION OFTHE DRAWING FIG. 1 shows a backhoe attachment mounted on my novelvehicle,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of my vehicle with the backhoe detached,

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the attachment carrier,

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the attachment carrier,

FIG. 5 is a cross-section taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 6, and

FIGS. 6 through 9 are fragmentary views showing various stages in themounting of the backhoe on the vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2of the drawing, the reference numeral l0denotes generally a vehicle onwhich a backhoe 12 is mounted. Vehicle includes a body 14 which issupported by a pair of drive wheels 16 on one side thereof and a pairofdrive wheels 18 on the other side thereof. (The relative speeds of thewheels on opposite sides of the vehicle can be controlled so as toprovide for differential steering of the vehicle.)

Connected to body 14 adjacent the rear thereof and extendingupwardlytherefrom is a pair of stanchions 20 and 22 to which a pair offorwardly extending boom arms 24 and 26 are connected for pivotalmovement. Boom arms 24 and 26 are raised and lowered by means of a pairof double-acting piston and cylinder type fluid motors 28 which areconnected between -boom arms and stanchions, as shown.

Also located on body 14 between boom arms 24 and 26 is an operatorsstation 32 which includes a seat 34 and an overhead guard 36.

Referring now also to FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be seen that an attachmentcarrier 38 is connected to the forward ends of boom arms 24 and 26 forpivotal movement relative thereto. Pivotal movement of carrier 38 isaccomplished by a pair of double-acting piston and cylinder type fluidmotors 40 which are connected between carrier 38 and boom arms 24 and26, as shown.

Attachment carrier 38 includes a generally horizontally extending bar 44which is adapted to engage an acute edge on an attachment so that theattachment can be picked up by carrier 38. Bar 44 is supported on a pairof generally upwardly extending members 46 and 48 which are connected bya cross brace 50 and pivotally connected to boom arms 24 and 26 at 52and 54, respectively. Fluid motors 40 are connected to carrier 38 at 56and 58, respectively. Carrier 38 also is provided with a pair of latches60 which serve to lock certain attachments, such as a bucket, to carrier38. A more detailed description of carrier 38 may be found in U.S. Pat.Application, Ser. No. 772,695, filed Nov. 1, 1968 now abandoned, and thecontinuation in part thereof, filed Nov. 5, 1969 now US. Pat. No.3,672,521 issued June 27, 1972, which are assigned to the same assigneeas the present invention.

Referring now also to FIGS. 5 through 9, it will be seen that a pair offixed pins 62 extend outwardly from body 12 adjacent the lower front endthereof and a pair of retractable pins 66 are extendable outwardly frombody 14 adjacent the upper front end thereof. Each retractable pin 66 isdisposed in a sleeve 80 located in a sidewall 82 of body 14 so that pin66 can be retracted into sidewall 82 or extended out through sidewall82. These pins serve to connect an attachment to vehicle 10 as will beexplained in more detail shortly.

Backhoe 12 includes a base 70 from which a pair of laterallyspaced-apart plates 72 extend rearwardly. Each plate includes agenerally upwardly extending slot 74 in the lower end thereof whichcooperates with one of pins 62 and an opening 76 which cooperates withone of pins 66 so that backhoe 12 may be mounted on vehicle 10.

Extending inwardly from each plate 72 is a pair of plates 84 and 86which form a generally inverted V and serve to receive bar 44 of carrier38 when inserted between plates 84 and 86 and moved upwardly toward theapex of plates 84 and 86.

In order to enable persons skilled in the art to better understand myinvention, I will now explain the operation of it. It will be assumedthat it is desired to mount backhoe 12 on vehicle 10, and further thatbackhoe 12 is positioned on the ground in front of vehicle 10substantially as shown in FIG. 6. The operator actuates fluid motors 40to pivot carrier 38 forwardly to the position shown in FIG. 7. Then theoperator actuates fluid motors 2.8 to raise boom arms 24 and 26 so thatbar 44 of carrier 38 is inserted between plates 84 and 86 and crossbrace 50 is brought into contact with base 70 of backhoe 12, wherebybackhoe 12 is connected to carrier 38. Fluid motors 28 and 40 are thenactuated to bring backhoe 12 to the position shown in FIG. 8 so thatslots 74 are above and slightly forward of pins 62. Fluid motors 28 and40 are now actuated so that slots 74 are lowered onto pins 62 andopenings 76 are aligned with retracted pins 66, as shown in FIG. 9. Pins66 are then extended outwardly into openings 76, thereby completing theconnection of backhoe 12 to vehicle 10. If desired, boom arms 24 and 26may be lowered slightly so that no shocks are transmitted throughbackhoe 12 to them.

In order to remove backhoe 12 from vehicle 10, the reverse of theprocedure for mounting it on vehicle is followed.

While my invention has been described in conjunction with a backhoe 12,it will be understood that any one of a number of other attachmentscould be used equally well so long as suitable means were provided onthe attachment to cooperate with carrier 38 for picking up theattachment with boom arms 24 and 26 and cooperate with the pins 62 and66 for mounting the attachment on vehicle 10.

While only a single embodiment of my invention and a single method ofutilizing it have been described in detail, it will be clear that suchdescription is intended to be illustrative only and that variousmodifications and changes can be made to my invention without departingfrom the spirit and scope of it. Therefore, the limits of my inventionshould be determined from the following appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of mounting a backhoe having connecting means and carrierreceiving means on a front end loader having elevatable boom arm means,a bucket and attachment carrier connected to the boom arm means forpivotal movement, a body and connecting means on the body, comprisingthe steps of connecting the backhoe to the boom arm means by engagingthe carrier receiving means with the carrier and actuating the boom armmeans and carrier to bring the connecting means of the backhoe intocooperation with the connecting means on the body so that the backhoe isconnected to the front of the body of the front end loader and extendsoutwardly therefrom.

2. The method of mounting a backhoe having connecting means, lockingmeans and carrier receiving means on a front end loader havingelevatable boom arm means, a bucket and attachment carrier connected tothe boom arm means for pivotal movement, a body connecting means on thebody and locking means on the body, comprising the 'steps of connectingthe backhoe to the boom arm means by engaging the carrier receivingmeans with the carrier, actuating the boom arm means and carrier tobring the connecting means of the backhoe into cooperation with theconnecting means on the body and bringing the locking means on thebackhoe into cooperation with the locking means on the body, andactuating one of the locking means so that the backhoe is fixedlymounted on the front of the body of the front end loader and extendsforwardly therefrom.

3. The method of mounting a backhoe having carrier receiving means andconnecting means including a pair of laterally spaced-apart plates, eachplate having a generally downwardly extending slot and an opening, on afront end loader having elevatable boom arm means, a pivotal carrierconnected to the boom arm means, a body and connecting means on the bodyincluding a pair of projections and a pair of retractable pins,comprising the steps of connecting the backhoe to the boom arm means byengaging the carrier receiving means with the carrier, actuating theboom arm means and carrier to bring the slots into engagement with theprojections and align the openings with the pins, and extending the pinsthrough the openings so that the backhoe is connected to the front ofthe body and extends forwardly therefrom.

4. The method by which an end loader vehicle having a material handlingbucket mounted at one end thereof is rapidly convertible to other usesby removing the bucket and mounting in its place an end attachment, saidend loader including a vehicle body, a pair of stanchions projectingupwardly adjacent the rear of said vehicle body and a pair of boom armspivoted to said stanchions adjacent the upper end thereof and extendingforwardly alongside an operators compartment and then downwardlyadjacent the front, an attachment carrier pivotally mounted on said boomarms adjacent the lower ends thereof, connecting means on the vehiclebody adjacent the boom arms in the lowermost position and carrierreceiving means on said end attachment having an upwardly convergingopening for engaging with said attachment carrier, said methodcomprising the steps of connecting the end attachment to the boom armsby engaging the carrier receiving means with the attachment carrier,actuating the attachment carrier and boom arms in conjunction so as tomanipulate the end attachment to a position adjacent said connectingmeans on the vehicle body and actuating said connecting means to securethe end attachment to the vehicle body.

1. The method of mounting a backhoe having connecting means and carrierreceiving means on a front end loader having elevatable boom arm means,a bucket and attachment carrier connected to the boom arm means forpivotal movement, a body and connecting means on the body, comprisingthe steps of connecting the backhoe to the boom arm means by engagingthe carrier receiving means with the carrier and actuating the boom armmeans and carrier to bring the connecting means of the backhoe intocooperation with the connecting means on the body so that the backhoe isconnected to the front of the body of the front end loader and extendsoutwardly therefrom.
 2. The method of mounting a backhoe havingconnecting means, locking means and carrier receiving means on a frontend loader having elevatable boom arm means, a bucket and attachmentcarrier connected to the boom arm means for pivotal movement, a bodyconnecting means on the body and locking means on the body, comprisingthe steps of connecting the backhoe to the boom arm means by engagingthe carrier receiving means with the carrier, actuating the boom armmeans and carrier to bring the connecting means of the backhoe intocooperation with the connecting means on the body and bringing thelocking means on the backhoe into cooperation with the locking means onthe body, and actuating one of the locking means so that the backhoe isfixedly mounted on the front of the body of the front end loader andextends forwardly therefrom.
 3. The method of mounting a backhoe havingcarrier receiving means and connecting means including a pair oflaterally spaced-apart plates, each plate having a generally downwardlyextending slot and an opening, on a front end loader having elevatableboom arm means, a pivotal carrier connected to the boom arm means, abody and connecting means on the body including a pair of projectionsand a pair of retractable pins, comprising the steps of connecting thebackhoe to the boom arm means by engaging the carrier receiving meanswith the carrier, actuating the boom arm means and carrier to bring theslots into engagement with the projections and align the openings withthe pins, and extending the pins through the openings so that thebackhoe is connected to the front of the body and extends forwardlytherefrom.
 4. The method by which an end loader vehicle having amaterial handling bucket mounted at one end thereof is rapidlyconvertible to other uses by removing the bucket and mounting in itsplace an end attachment, said end loader including a vehicle body, apair of stanchions projecting upwardly adjacent the rear of said vehiclebody and a pair of boom arms pivoted to said stanchions adjacent theupper end thereof and extending forwardly alongside an operator''scompartment and then downwardly adjacent the front, an attachmentcarrier pivotally mounted on said boom arms adjacent the lower endsthereof, connecting means on the vehicle body adjacent the boom arms inthe lowermost position and carrier receiving means on said endattachment having an upwardly converging opening for engaging with saidattachment carrier, saiD method comprising the steps of connecting theend attachment to the boom arms by engaging the carrier receiving meanswith the attachment carrier, actuating the attachment carrier and boomarms in conjunction so as to manipulate the end attachment to a positionadjacent said connecting means on the vehicle body and actuating saidconnecting means to secure the end attachment to the vehicle body.